John Simon.



Is Simon going to run a 4.4 forty time? No. Does he fit the Clemons/Irvin mold. Not quite. That said, Simon's tape screams Chris Long. A less athletic, LEO version. Both have long, powerful arms and are outstanding at shedding blocks and display an excellent repertoire of pass rush moves. Simon has excellent leadership/intangibles and is a natural leader of his defense. Quite frankly, I am kind of blown away that he's not up there with at least Bjoern Werner in the pass rusher discussion. Or as a MTD commenter aptly put it:



Here is an article on Simon from earlier this year that I thought contained an interesting nugget:



Simon comes from a defense that utilizes him in a LEO type role. That's a plus for Seattle when looking for pass rushers out of college, because you get a better idea of how they'd handle the role, while the LEO label could hurt his stock with other teams that use a more traditional end and allow Simon to fall further than his talent deserves.

The one common complaint against Simon is his height (6'2"). For reference, Chris Long is 6'3". Chris Clemons is 6'3". Bruce Irvin is 6'3". Melvin Ingram, who ranked high on Seattle's draft board last year and was a mid-1st round pick, was 6'1".

The reason height matters for defensive ends is mainly because more height tends to equate to greater arm length. I don't know what his arms will measure at, but they look plenty long enough on tape. 34" arms would not surprise me.

My only complaint for Simon is his average speed, and Pete seems to prefer burners at DE. However, if he can get over that, Simon is a player that can create pressure almost immediately on a very high percentage of his snaps. Chris Clemons probably won't be the same guy next year, but Simon could really soften that blow. He also has the kind of drive and intangibles that this regime is always looking for.

_________________

"I believe there’s merit to the idea that once something in life becomes conventional, it’s no longer the safest path to success." -Matt Waldman
"If everyone's thinking alike, no one's thinking." -Bill Walsh

How's his run D?

Solid by LEO standards. Probably not by traditional standards. Sheds well, strong against single blocks, but he can be run around in open space. Not quite as good as Clemons, but WAY better than Irvin.

_________________

"I believe there’s merit to the idea that once something in life becomes conventional, it’s no longer the safest path to success." -Matt Waldman
"If everyone's thinking alike, no one's thinking." -Bill Walsh

That sucks It's almost seeming like Clemons is the ideal LEO, and that mofo is 31..... Simon is at least a better pass rusher than Clem, right?

And where would Simon go? 1st? Or could we nab him with a lower round pick while picking up, say, a DT earlier?

Damn he likes the inside move a lot. Are Nebraska's tackles half decent? He ate them all for breakfast.

Here's a sleeper late round pick for you. Quanterus Smith, from Western Kentucky. 6'5", 249. Holds the Sunbelt conference record for most career sacks (ahead of Osi Umenyiora and Demarcus Ware. Doesnt have the suddenness of a Bruce Irvin but his tape looks pretty good. Tore his ACL as a senior so he can probably had in the 6th or 7th round. Looks like a Pete Carroll/John Schneider from out of nowhere find to me.

And he can do it against good competition, here he is against Alabama going up against DJ Fluker who I believe is projected as a 1st round pick:



And his complete game against Arkansas State. Keep in mind Arkansas STate has a pretty good offense (24th in the country yardage wise) .

_________________

Some nice finds today.

_________________

"I believe there’s merit to the idea that once something in life becomes conventional, it’s no longer the safest path to success." -Matt Waldman
"If everyone's thinking alike, no one's thinking." -Bill Walsh

No disrespect, but I think these topics work better if you just watch the video. You can basically answer a lot of questions in very little time just by watching. Besides, you should never take someone else's word as gospel when it comes to the draft. Better to self-educate.

Anyway, Simon is a different kind of player than Clemons in most ways. I still think he's pretty darn good though, and he seems like a very natural fit for the LEO, especially if Pete is willing to go with less than 4.4 speed. Simon is more quick than fast.

_________________

"I believe there’s merit to the idea that once something in life becomes conventional, it’s no longer the safest path to success." -Matt Waldman
"If everyone's thinking alike, no one's thinking." -Bill Walsh

Very interesting Kearly, I'm gonna have to keep an eye on him.

_________________

Quanterias has looked like the real deal.

I'm interested in Brandon Moore, DT Texas as a late round pick. He looked pretty good in limited playing time and is 6'5" 320#. I noticed him (97) while watching Okafor. Looks pretty light on his feet, quick, gets some good push and chases down plays.

Sylvester Williams on the other hand looks sluggish and unbalanced. Dude ends up on the ground way too much.

_________________
Joe Vellano, DT, 6'1", 300lbs, 61 tkls 14 TFL, 6 sacks" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nc_yzeVi-eU, Mike Catapano 6'4" 271
QB Jordan Rodgers 6'1" 212# 2539 Yards, 60% completion 15td/5int

I took your advice and watched the video. Simon didn't even really seem quick to me, honestly..... I wouldn't give him any chance of chasing down a Cam Newton, Colin Kaepernick, mobile QB in the backfield. The only speed rush i saw seemed to be right before the end of the video ( 4:50 ), and even though it looked good he just feels like an overachiever due to me. I think I might be a little more high on him if he runs a good 10 yard split or shows decent measurables at the combine.

Have you guys checked out margus Hunt. He is raw but most of the guys we are showing around he are beating one guy or RB blocks. Margus is all over the line DT DE NT and beating triple teams, thats not a joke. Yeah he is raw as hell and played lesser teams but if he can beet a lesser triple team, I would bet he can beet a Tackle. Just screams PC JS to me. As a Leo or DT Not sure, as an absolute terror to block, yes!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgNUN-Sq ... =endscreen

edited cause I can't spell

_________________
"Go Hawks" Russlemainia

I am liking Quanterus Smith he looks like he plays the run as well, draws double teams and still fights through, I like him thanks J.

_________________
"Go Hawks" Russlemainia

Bruce Irvin is our LEO. I guess I don't see how in one start his rookie year you can determine he isn't our LEO.

_________________
"??? How do you know he's awful? We've seen the guy play 2 regular season games." -SoulfishHawk
"16 starts in 9 years is all you need to know." - Tsizzle
"OMFG! LOL! Are you for real?" -ivotuk

He might end up being our LEO but I sure as hell wouldn't bank the farm on that. I have my doubts that he will ever be big and strong enough to hold up against the run. My guess is he will be a career long situational pass rusher and backup LEO.

I would say we are more looking for a pass rush, and Bruce is fine but we need more a dominate DT and another edge rusher and a beastly replacement for Hill, Clem’s great but he is going to be long in the tooth soon and I would like it if we found his replacement or Irvin’s when he goes to LEO while we have tons of picks and only a pound of needs. I would not be surprised if we picked 2 Ends and a tackle or took two ends signed a tackle and still drafted one. Bruce is great as a situational pass rusher as of now but he has to totally sell out to be effective against the run, hopefully he gets out an learns this in the off season and comes back with some shedding ability. also Jones and Branch are FA. Which to me that means we basically got Mebane, so let’s get it handled while it’s a luxury not a dire need.

_________________
"Go Hawks" Russlemainia

Irvin will probably excel in Brock's former role, though. I'm hopeful Irvin can work on technique and nab the position, but even if he's only seeing snaps on passing downs and he's always getting pressure for us with another LEO causing pressure and our DTs working the center and guards over, that'll be a great defensive package.

_________________
My single greatest contribution to the board: "42-13" (formerly 24-14)

So you want to go into next season with Irvin being the only LEO on the roster? You don't think we could benefit from adding another LEO maybe a bit stronger than Irvin who could be a better run stopper to rep in and out with? You honestly think Irvin should be the only pass rusher on the roster...?

_________________
Team Hansen

Thats not what was being talked about in this thread, if it is and its just adding depth behind Bruce...then Im all for depth in case Bruce goes down.

1) Did I say he should be the only LEO? When I see "answer at LEO" I assume the OP doesn't feel we have one now.
2) Did I say we couldn't benefit from depth?
3) Did I say Irvin should be the only pass rusher on the roster?

_________________
"??? How do you know he's awful? We've seen the guy play 2 regular season games." -SoulfishHawk
"16 starts in 9 years is all you need to know." - Tsizzle
"OMFG! LOL! Are you for real?" -ivotuk

The only thing still giving me confidence in the fact that Irvin can be our LEO is that Carroll said so and JS picked him. Other than that, Kearly said that Irvin isn't built to be a LEO, and so far he's right. I'm leaning towards Kearly's side here...